Wife wants a pistol for christmas...

[theJUGG]

I want yalls opinion. My wife wants a pistol for Christmas but shes kind of scared of them at the same time. I took her out a few weeks ago to shoot my 1911 and she was timid at first but by the end of it I had to go buy more ammo. I thought about a lcp but I amlost think its too yappy for her. Suggestions?

 

[Dan1612]

If it's for carry, I'd say P938 or Shield depending on your budget. Both easy to rack, shoot and carry. The edge goes to the Sig for having a manual of arms identical to a 1911 and (compared to a shield with a safety) the safety is much easier to maneuver. It's also much better looking and comes with night sights.

 

[theJUGG]

thanks dan

 

[duchamp6]

troy has the sig 290rs brand new in 9mm for $360 out the door. i have the .380 version and love it.

https://www.facebook.com/deepsouth.armsandammo?fref=nf&pnref=story

 

[Urbanfuturistic]

Glock 42?

You really havent given us much to go on. How long has she been shooting? She was intimidated by the 1911, but what about other pistols? Take her to a store and let her hold and manipulate as many as they will allow you. Take her to a range where you can rent guns and shoot as many as possible.

Dont just run out willy-nilly and buy the first thing you see in pink and call it a day. Have her be part of the decision making process. That way, she gets what she wants. Because at the end of the day, she is the one that has to use it. Also, if she comes to a conclusion that she likes two or three different ones, you still have the ability to surprise her with what you buy her.

 

[Dan1612]

You'll get as many answers as there are members, but I'll add that if (like yours truly) you keep a 1911 for carry, or even as a home defense gun, there is a great deal of value in developing familiarity with the same manual of arms and transferable skills from one platform to the other.

Should you decide to go .380, the P238 shares the same advantages as the P938, but at a lower price point, and even with defensive ammo, is the softest shooting small 380 on the market. It feels exactly like a little 25acp if you've ever shot one.

As a new shooter, she's also likely to take comfort in having a manual safety, which is a good thing as long as she trains with it because of the much better trigger pull single action autos can have, and thus be more conducive to good accuracy.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

Well I took my girlfriend shooting a few months ago. Now this is the second time she has been shooting. The first time was her shooting my old LCP and she hated the snap to it and stopped shooting. The second time I took her shooting she shot my shield 9mm, my SR1911, and my dads full size M&P 9mm. Her favorite to shoot out of all of them was the shield. She said it fit perfect in her small hands and the gun didn't feel to big like the other two. Now once she shot my 1911 I asked her what she enjoyed shooting better out of the LCP or 1911. She picked the 1911. Looks like I will be getting her a shield. This is what she told me "The best trigger was on my 1911. The easiest for her to control and shoot was the shield" She didn't care for the full size M&P because of course the pistol was big for her hands and the trigger pull was longer than the others. So that was from a females perceptive.

Now I honestly would take her to a range and rent some of the most popular carry pistols and let her shoot them and figure out what pistol she feels the most comfortable with.

 

[Stagman]

Depends on her experience with a pistol, with someone inexperienced with handling a semi-auto in the heat of the moment you have a malfunction will she know how to clear it quickly. Where if you have a misfire with a revolver you just pull the trigger again and roll it to the next cylinder. This is why with beginners I think revolvers are a better choice. Just my opinion and good luck finding the right pistol.

 

[MarkS]

Glock 42?

You really havent given us much to go on. How long has she been shooting? She was intimidated by the 1911, but what about other pistols? Take her to a store and let her hold and manipulate as many as they will allow you. Take her to a range where you can rent guns and shoot as many as possible.

Dont just run out willy-nilly and buy the first thing you see in pink and call it a day. Have her be part of the decision making process. That way, she gets what she wants. Because at the end of the day, she is the one that has to use it. Also, if she comes to a conclusion that she likes two or three different ones, you still have the ability to surprise her with what you buy her.

Good advise, although once my wife had a P938 in her hand nothing else would do but for her to have one of her own.

 

[Sporter]

I would prefer the Sig P938 but my wife uses the P238. PSA has a heck of a deal on them now at $419.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/14783/category/4336/



I took my wife to Jay's Range and rented a variety of pistols/revolvers. The P238 was the hands down winner for her due to the relatively decent trigger and easy "rackability" of the slide.

 

[LowRiderRed]

9mm Shield. My 64 year year novice wife handles it very well.

 

[Urbanfuturistic]

...the P238...is the softest shooting small 380 on the market...

Ill put a wager down that its not compared to the G42.

 

[Dan1612]

Ill put a wager down that its not compared to the G42.

Is too! Lol.

 

[FrankT]

Glock 26, don't under power her w a 380...beside if she ever turns it on you you want a quick kill and the 9mm will do that, you will only suffer shot w a 380.

 

[FUPAGUNT]

Another +1 for the Shield 9. My wife loves hers (and I love mine)

 

[Stagman]

If you are going the semi-auto route I would recommend a Gen 4 Glock 26.

 

[Urbanfuturistic]

Is too! Lol.

When do you want to test this out?

 

[Dan1612]

When do you want to test this out?

Unfortunately, I cant since I don't have a 238 anymore. The marginal decrease in size to the 938 is not enough to warrant having the weaker caliber, especially when the more powerful of the two is very manageable.
Anyone here own both?

 

[76251]

Lots of variables if its for carry, bedside table, holster, purse or all of the above. If you have curious kids that can get to it then you have to worry about that too. With a semi auto you can separate the gun and loaded mag if need be but thats kinda slow if you need to access it and start shooting within a few seconds for defensive purposes. Also a semi auto DA/SA with a decocker/safety may be easier to manipulate than a 1911 type pistol that you have to manually lower the hammer at times. Cocked and locked is not for everyone either.

 

[Dan1612]

Lots of variables if its for carry, bedside table, holster, purse or all of the above. If you have curious kids that can get to it then you have to worry about that too. With a semi auto you can separate the gun and loaded mag if need be but thats kinda slow if you need to access it and start shooting within a few seconds for defensive purposes.

Very true, more info would be helpful to us trying to be helpful, or really just having an intellectual exercise.

Also a semi auto DA/SA with a decocker/safety may be easier to manipulate

I think it's more complicated, but I'm biased.

than a 1911 type pistol that you have to manually lower the hammer at times.

There is absolutely no reason to manually lower the hammer on a SA auto, in fact, it's extremely dangerous.

Cocked and locked is not for everyone either

true, but if he already shoots a 1911, and she enjoyed shooting it, I think she's a prefect candidate.